


A Transcript From A Ghost

by AmableAngel



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Cancer, Dead People, Death, F/M, Honestly I just im sorry, I'm so sorry, Minor Makki, NO ABSOLUTELY NOT, NOT MAXVID, NOT MAXVID YA NASTIES, childhood cancer, ghosts??, lots and lots of it, yall thanks for the comments dude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 17:09:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12752586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmableAngel/pseuds/AmableAngel
Summary: I guess you could say that David had always been attached to his job.





	A Transcript From A Ghost

**Author's Note:**

> Um yeah its ya girl back at it again with the Camp Camp
> 
> Not quite sure what this is but take it ahahha
> 
> Kudos and comments appreciated my dudes!!!!
> 
> also: greg is space kid, I didn't want to put two neils in there haha
> 
> credit for name 'Santos' go to Forestwater! I don't think anyone's used Greene for David's last name, so credit for that goes to me.

_ [Begin transcript] _

 

To Jasper

 

I guess you could say that David had always been attached to his job. Everything he did, he went 110%. Nothing was ever done halfway and he did it with the energy of a golden retriever. I'll admit, sometimes it got a little annoying. One time, he was throwing a surprise party for his little sister, and he hired a mariachi band. A fucking mariachi band. The girl was seventeen!! She was embarrassed beyond belief.  _ [Subject laughs a little, throwing her head back] _

But his heart is in the right place. Always in the right place. I should know. I married him. 

Ah, sorry. I was getting off topic there for a second. No matter. 

I'm here to tell you a story, and you’ll get one. 

 

Y'know, David always wanted to get a job that dealt with kids. He wanted to make a difference in people's lives. He  _ had  _ done that, with me at least. He came into my life and flipped it upside down. I didn't even recognize myself. 

But he always wanted to get a job that helped kids. And when he got an offer to work as a social worker in a children's hospital, he jumped at it, snatching up the opportunity in his hands. I remember he was so excited to start on his first day. He kept asking me, “Gwen, Gwen! Is my tie fine? Is my hair okay? Does my breath smell?” And then I'd respond, “No, darling, it looks great. I love it.” I kissed him on the cheek and pushed him out the door, he was on his way. 

_ [Subject looks down at floor]  _ That first day, when he got back home, David entered our apartment, crossed the room and plopped down on the couch. His eyes were vacant and it looked like all the life was sucked out of him. Now, you know David pretty well, I think, so I'm sure you know it was weird when he was so sad. 

_ I  _ was confused, so of course, I sat down next to him and gave him a side hug. 

“What's wrong?” I asked. He replied, “They don't have any life. They're just… empty.” To which I responded, “What are you talking about?” 

“Those kids,” he said sadly. “They don't see the point in living anymore. They're so angry and devoid of hope.”

At this point, I was even more concerned. I placed my hand on his thigh and said, “Davey, why don't you tell me how your first day went?” 

He sat up a little straighter and sucked in a deep breath. David was never like this, and frankly, at this point, I was considering calling the police or something. I rubbed his back until he spoke. 

“I got into the hospital, right? I go up to the receptionist and say that I'm the new social worker. I'm happy. I'm so happy to be working in this place, ready to make a difference in kid's lives.” His voice started breaking here. “I got up to the room where all of them were talking. And I just stopped.” Now, David was always a very emotional man. There was one time where he just fucking lost it when he accidentally ran over a bird.  _ {Subject rolls her eyes, smiling] _

Anyhow, he said, “And I just stopped. They were all so hollow; I could see it in their eyes. Their eyes were not windows to the soul, they were empty. No one was home.”

One by one, he told me their names, the names of the kids in the ward he worked in. Nikki, Preston, Dolph, Ered, Nurf, Harrison, Nerris, Greg, and Max. There was one other kid who was almost always there, visiting his step-sister. His name was Neil. Together, they formed the saddest group David had met. 

I mean, whaddya expect from a bunch of kids with terminal illnesses? They were going to die, they thought. There was no point in doing anything or caring about it. One girl, Tabii, had been carted off to the ER two weeks before David arrived. They never saw her again. That event just reinforced these kid’s beliefs that nothing mattered when you could die any second.  _ [Subject bites lip] _

And well, I got where they were coming from. If you were going to die, what's the point? If all anyone's ever told you was, 'You’re lucky to be alive a couple more months,’ then I'd be pretty bitter too. 

Well, David told me that night, “Gwen, I’m going to make them smile. I’ll make them care, even if it’s just for a bit.” To that, I responded, “Yes, that’s a good idea. Can we eat now?” He was always sort of dramatic and I learned to block that out after a while. So we ate, went to sleep, and then he went to work the next day. 

Then as time passed, he brought in pictures of those kids. I grew familiar with Nikki's thinning teal hair, Preston's wide eyes as he stared out the window, and Max's stern expression. 

David would look at the pictures every night lovingly and smile at me. “One day, we're going to have kids, right?” And I did want kids. Except later, I found out I had ovarian cancer. I had to get my ovaries removed and that was the end of that dream. We considered adoption, but it was too expensive. I was devastated, but even more so David. 

Aha, sorry. I keep getting off topic. Anyhow, he grew more and more close to those kids. He told me they hated him at first. Max had thrown a rock at him when they were first introduced. 

Nikki was the liveliest of the group, meaning she listlessly fidgeted with her fingers all day. She had been such an energetic kid before she got sick, according to David. And I believed him. When I visited the hospital one time, I looked into that girl's eyes and I saw energy. I saw restlessness. I saw despair at being strapped to a bed for the rest of her life. 

Neil wasn't actually sick, but he visited his stepsister so often, it was like he lived there. He was smart, that boy. David told me he looked at his homework and he couldn't make heads or tails of it. Then he asked, “Hey, Neil. What's your homework?” And he responded, “This is for fun.” That same time I visited the hospital, David couldn't find Neil anywhere and was freaking out. I had gone to the bathroom during that whole thing, and heard crying inside the boys bathroom. I shouldn't have gone in there, but I did anyways. When I walked in there, Neil was against the wall, his knees pulled up against his chest. He was shaking. I only heard three sentences from his mouth and I'll remember it till the day I die. He kept saying, “She's not supposed to be like that. Why is she like that? She's gone.”

Preston had been a theater nerd before he was diagnosed. Nothing made him happier than watching a bootleg of Hamilton or listening to the Heather's soundtrack. David told me that he was a bright child, who definitely had a future in acting. Then he stopped, realized his mistake, and started crying. I had to sit with him for an hour after that happened. 

Ered was a lost child, the eldest of the group. She spent her days staring at her phone, watching YouTube videos of extreme sports. It was then, according to David, she seemed the happiest. Still a ghost, but just there. She was always kind of distant with everyone except Dolph, who she talked to whenever she wasn’t on her phone. 

Dolph was a German kid who came to the USA for treatment. No matter what they did to him, however, the doctors told his parents he was going to die. So they stuck him in there with a bunch of paints and brushes and told him to spend his time wisely. And he did. Those paintings he created were some of the best things I’d ever seen in my years. They were absolutely breathtaking. Really. David loved them so much, he’d gush to me very night about how good Dolph was at painting. 

And Nurf. His mother was in jail and he’d been a trouble child growing up. And he was still, even facing death. If he was gonna go, he was gonna go with a bang and a shit-ton of angry nurses. He never really seemed happy, according to David, but there was one incident where he opened up to David and talked about his issues. That seemed to make him happy, until Preston pissed him off. 

Nerris was, er, interesting. She had a pretty prominent lisp that the other kids made fun of. Enjoyed magic and LARPing, all that good stuff. And Harrison was another magic kid. Except, he made things disappear? It really was quite odd; David never understood how he did it, but he did. 

Greg was obsessed with space. All the nurses told him that the tubes attached to him were his astronaut suit and that he would fly to space in that. He believed it and spent his days dreaming of the moon. It absolutely crushed David. On the day that he found out Greg was definitely going to stay in that ward for the rest of his life, he came home and wouldn't-- couldn't-- talk to me. 

And then there was Max. Max was… interesting. He was the most cynical, the most rude, the most angry and bitter. And he was David's favorite. I never understood that-- I still don't-- but Max was certainly a character. Another time I visited the hospital, it was visiting hours and the ward was crowded with parents. Carl and Candy, Nikki and Neil's parents, stood by her bed and talked to her. Preston's grandma was sitting at his side, barely hearing what he told her. Everyone's parents were there, even Nurf’s mom. Except for Max's. His bedside was empty, no one there. When I walked over to him, he turned over to the other side, facing out the window. I got no response other than, “Fuck off.” So I did, I left. 

Now, before I continue the rest of the story, I’ll tell you one thing. So far, I’ve told you how these kids were just gone, vacant inside. But they were the strongest kids I’d ever met. They were battling a disease that had ravaged their body with so much pain that most adults couldn't even bear. During my chemotherapy treatment, I was in so much pain, I wanted to kill myself. I told David, “Kill me. I don’t care.” But these kids. They-- they were uncomplaining, staying strong even till the end. Yeah, they were losing. It showed on their faces. But they didn’t give up and leave the world just yet. They were gone, but not all the way. They were still fighting, despite what the doctors told them. And for that, they were strong. The strongest people I ever knew, even to this day. 

So, David slowly but surely, brought them to happiness. He arranged for Preston to visit a Broadway musical, he got Nikki a pass to visit the forest for the day, he got Neil to smile by making his sister smile. Nurf opened up and became more happy. Dolph got to visit MoMa. Ered got to see an extreme sports show. One by one, they got what made them happy. Slowly, but surely, they smiled more often. 

That is, everyone but Max. He was grumpy. He was so bitter, I don't know how cheery David didn't have an allergic reaction. Nothing pleased him. David took it upon himself to make Max smile. 

He actually sat down with a pen and paper and made a list.  _ Things that make Max smile.  _ He started the list with Nikki. They were always hanging out and talking. He had seen Max crack a tiny grin whenever he was talking to her. Even a blush. The next was Neil. Those two talked and Neil helped Max on his homework that he had to make up. Constantly, Max insisted, “It doesn't even matter. Why am I doing this shit? I'm not even going to live to see the 9th grade.” To that, Neil would shake his head, not speaking, and solve another problem with him. At that point in the listing, David stopped, looked at me and then back at the paper. 

“Dear?” 

“Hm?”

“What makes you happy?” 

“Uh, you?”

“Er, what if you were a ten year old who was angry at the world?” 

“Seeing my family? Not sure. The family thing wouldn't apply to me, haha.” 

“Family! I didn't even ask him if he had family.” David scratched down another thing on his paper. He leaned back satisfactorily  and chuckled. 

Next day, he came back home and threw the paper into the trash. 

“Max doesn't have any family,” he said angrily, stabbing his General Tsao’s chicken with his fork. “They're back in India, because as Max said, 'They couldn't be bothered.’ It just makes me mad.” He was bothered the rest of the day. 

And even though David had made these kids happy once again, something was missing.

I visited one more time, during David's lunch shift. As I approached the room, I heard Max screaming. 

“David!! How many times do I hafta get it into your fucking head?!! NO ONE CARES ABOUT THIS. WE'RE GOING TO DIE. AND NOTHING YOU DO’LL GET US TO LIVE ANOTHER COUPLE MONTHS!!” A pause. “We're dying, David. Nothing's going to fix that.” I had frozen outside the door, listening and afraid to go inside. There was a couple seconds of silence, before I heard David talk. 

“You're right.” His voice was filled with sadness and I could see him casting his eyes to the ground. “You're right, Max. Pretending like things are okay aren't going to make it better. You're completely right.” At this point, I entered the room, swinging open the door dramatically. 

“Hey, Davey.”

“Hello, darling.” I looked around the room, surveying the area. Surprised, I found no faces. Everyone was gone. Of course, the first thing that came to my mind was the worst case scenario. 

“Wait, wait, are they--?!” I asked, wringing my hands together. 

“No, no. They're on a trip to the nearby nature conservancy. I'm trying to get Max to come along too.” David's face brightened. “Hey, why don't you try to explain to Max while I go to the bathroom?”

I still don't know why Davey asked my to explain to an angry ten year old why you should keep trying to live. But I'm glad he did. Nervously, I sat down next to Max. 

“Er, Max, my name's Gwen. I'm David's wife.”

“Yeah, yeah I know who you are. He won't shut up about you.” 

“Well,” I said, casting a sideways look at the door. “I heard that part where you yelled about no one giving a fuck, since you're going to die.” I gulped. “I'm not gonna lie, it seems like there's no point in doing anything. But if you lose all hope in something, there's no getting it back. You just have to keep living. It might not be for a very long time. But you keep going.” 

“You said to keep living. Who the fuck do I live for? My parents are back in India--”

“I'll tell you who to live for.” I leaned in closer. “You're going to live for David. And maybe me, if you want. That's who. David loves you so much and it hurts him to see you like this. He knows that you don't have much time left and he wants you to be happy for at least a little bit. But he can't do that unless you try. So, please, if not for you, then for David?”

Max stared at me. He didn't respond for a good minute or two. I began to worry. Did I say too much? Have him and David not been close enough for me to say that? 

The he opened his mouth. “Fine. David's the only one who cares even the slightest about me. But I'm not going to be happy about it. I'm going to grumble and make his life miserable.”

“But you'll do it?”

“Yes.” I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. At that moment, David came back into the room.

“So?” he asked. Max pointed a finger at him and started straight up yelling. 

“I'll come to your stupid nature shit. BUT.” Max took a breath. “Do not look too deeply into this!! You suck. This world sucks. And one day we're all going to die and none of it will matter!! But if I didn't do this, I’m pretty sure you might kill yourself or something, given how much you've been trying at this bullshit. So I'll come to your fucking park.” David looked in amazement at me and then back to Max. “Well don't just stand there! Help me get out of this place!” David nodded wordlessly and got Max a wheelchair. 

Now, before I finish the rest of the story, I’ll tell you a couple spoilers. None of these kids are alive now. You go to the graveyard, you’ll see a plot of land for kids. You go over there, you’ll see a couple of graves. Tiny graves. One’ll read  _ Nicolette Smyth, beloved daughter and sister.  _ Another will say  _ Harrison Levit, still in our hearts.  _ No matter what Davey did, nothing would help them would make them live longer, just as Max said. Frankly, it was a race against time. 

They were losing. 

And it pains me to say this, even now, but deep down, David refused to accept this. He tried to change things. He tried and tried. But it was useless, in the long run. But he still persisted, trying to make these doomed children happy for just a little bit longer. And for that, he was strong. I said earlier that David gets way too attached to everything. 

And for him to give his everything for these kids was brave of him. He risked hurting himself for the happiness of these middle schoolers. He did it without a second thought. 

But back to my story. Max went with David to that conservancy. They got pizza. They made their way along the riverside, pointing to birds in the sky. Everyone came back to the hospital that night with their entourage of machines and nurses following behind them in good spirits. And Max was happy too. Not just a little grin, but a full blown smile. He was laughing. I know, I know. I was surprised to the point where I was actually checking his forehead for a fever. 

However, like all good things in life, everything must end. Even life itself. 

Nerris had woken up in the middle of the night with a blinding pain in her stomach, according to David, who wanted to spend that night over in the hospital. Immediately, everyone was roused and Nerris was rushed off to the ER. Harrison cried for an hour, which was something that had happened when Tabii died. But this time, Preston leaned over and comforted him. They talked throughout the night and even Ered tried to talk to him, keeping his mind off of Nerris. 

David realized something that night. All he had done was give them what made them happy. But in the process, he helped them make friends. 

Nerris didn't make it though. David cried for three days. 

Soon after that, a listlessness fell over those kids. Yeah, they'd gotten happiness, but Nerris was a reminder that it could all end any second. 

One by one, they died over the course of a year and a half. These poor kids were waiting to die. You know how scary that is? It's just impending doom. One day you could be there, and one day you might not. I wondered how they didn't go crazy with it all. First it was Dolph. Then Nurf, Ered, Preston, Harrison, Greg, and Nikki.  _ [Subject’s eyes begin to water]  _ Everyone was moved to separate rooms after Preston died. 

When Nikki died, Max wouldn't talk to anyone for a full week. He just sat on his bed and cried silently. It was just him and Neil crying in his hospital room. David was broken. He didn't know what to do. He forgot to do simple things, like feed the cat or even brush his teeth. It was like someone took his heart and snapped it over their knee. 

_ [Subject takes deep breath]  _ Y'know, they say the dead never really die. Max kept Nikki and all the rest of them alive in his heart. He remembered them and cried for them. Now we will do the same for Max. We'll keep him alive in our hearts.  _ [Subject begins crying softly and then stops, wipes face, and continues] _

And so, our story ends here. I think I tried to tell a story, but I'm not very good at this, haha.  _ [Subject laughs weakly]  _ But I guess what I'm trying to say with this story is that despite all odds, keep trying. Even if you know you'll lose. Once you lose hope, you lose everything. 

 

_ [End transcript] _

 

**[Gwen Santos talking about her husband, David Greene, and a child named Max Chauhan. Circa 2005. Transcript and tape were found in a box labeled ‘Time Capsule.’ It is not clear who she’s talking to, but at the top of the transcript, there is a line that reads ‘To Jasper.’]**

**Author's Note:**

> please dont kill me
> 
> but please do leave comments and kudos :))))


End file.
